Free Antivirus Apps and Alternatives

11 applications in this hubLast updated: Mar 14th 2024, 18:33 GMT

It's common sense to equip a computer with a powerful anti-malware application capable of blocking ransomware, viruses, worms, Trojans, rootkits, spyware and other forms of malicious agents.

Besides basic protection, most paid antivirus products come bundled with extra security features, such as firewall, email scanner, password manager, file shredder, anti-phishing, or sandbox for testing apps in an isolated environment.

Meanwhile, free antivirus tools offer basic protection only: a scanner and a real-time guard against incoming threats. They shouldn't be disregarded, though, because the engine powering an anti-malware utility is shared by all editions of the same product, whether it has "Free", "Professional", "Premium", "Total", "Ultimate" or another similar term in its name.

Whether you're looking for standard anti-malware protection without having to worry about installing additional security features, or you just want to test the antivirus engine of a particular product for free before deciding if it's worth spending your money, make sure to explore this hub.

We handpicked what we think to be the best free antivirus products listed on Softpedia, which are also highly regarded by the community. Only free antivirus tools with a real-time guard were included here (sorry, McAfee Stinger and Kaspersky Virus Removal Tool). Please note that, although free to use, some of these utilities are ad-supported, either offering third-party components during setup, showing banners during runtime, or both.

Furthermore, we've included a cool app called SecureAPlus that uses cloud protection provided by multiple AV engines - it's not free but lets you test its full features for 1 year for free.

If you're interested, you can discover tools in other hubs for portable antivirus, scan for viruses, uninstall antivirus and virus definitions.

50,698 HITS

Applications

     
  • 36,314,621 downloads
  • 33.7 MB
Avira Free Security

Avira Free Security 1.1.99.443

Protect all your devices with the help of this comprehensive antivirus suite built around a tripod...

Mar 11th 2024, 10:08 GMT
Windows 7 / Windows 7 64 bit / Windows 8 / Windows 8 64 bit / Windows 10 / Windows 10 64 bit / Windows 11
     
  • 8,360,386 downloads
  • 229 KB
AVG Antivirus Free

AVG Antivirus Free 24.2.3324 / 24.3.3326 Beta

Top-grade antivirus application with basic protection against all forms of malware, in addition to...

Mar 14th 2024, 18:20 GMT
Windows 7 / Windows 7 64 bit / Windows 8 / Windows 8 64 bit / Windows 10 / Windows 10 64 bit / Windows 11
     
  • 8,185,071 downloads
  • 257 KB
Avast Free Antivirus

Avast Free Antivirus 24.2.6104 / 24.3.6106 Beta

Powerful anti-malware solution delivered in a user-friendly and free package, featuring multiple s...

Mar 14th 2024, 18:33 GMT
Windows 7 / Windows 7 64 bit / Windows 8 / Windows 8 64 bit / Windows 10 / Windows 10 64 bit / Windows 11
     
  • 691,292 downloads
  • 13.4 MB
Bitdefender Antivirus Free

Bitdefender Antivirus Free 27.0.30.140

Feather-light and free antivirus solution from renowned developer that keeps the PC protected at a...

Mar 6th 2024, 05:30 GMT
Windows 7 / Windows 7 64 bit / Windows 8 / Windows 8 64 bit / Windows 10 / Windows 10 64 bit / Windows 11
     
  • 292,480 downloads
  • 87.7 MB
Panda Free Antivirus (Panda Dome)

Panda Free Antivirus (Panda Dome) 22.02.01

Handy and approachable antivirus solution that uses cloud assistance to prevent, detect and elimin...

Dec 26th 2023, 09:24 GMT
Windows XP 64 bit / Windows Vista / Windows Vista 64 bit / Windows 7 / Windows 7 64 bit / Windows 8 / Windows 8 64 bit / Windows 10 / Windows 10 64 bit / Windows 11
     
  • 15,983 downloads
  • 872 KB
Windows Defender Offline

Windows Defender Offline 4.9.221.0

A comprehensive utility that helps you to detect and keep malware off your computer, while maintai...

Apr 14th 2017, 06:29 GMT
Windows XP / Windows XP 64 bit / Windows Vista / Windows Vista 64 bit / Windows 7 / Windows 7 64 bit / Windows 8 / Windows 8 64 bit / Windows 10 / Windows 10 64 bit
     
  • 4,293,639 downloads
  • 11.66 MB
Microsoft Security Essentials - MSE

Microsoft Security Essentials - MSE 4.2.223 (XP) / 4.10.209.0

The official, free antivirus solution from Microsoft for Windows 7 and Vista computers, which prov...

Dec 22nd 2018, 14:27 GMT
Windows XP / Windows Vista / Windows Vista 64 bit / Windows 7 / Windows 7 64 bit
     
  • 861,032 downloads
  • 292 MB
Dr.WEB CureIt!

Dr.WEB CureIt! March 03, 2024

A portable, easy to run malware scanning solution that can analyze your system on-demand to detect...

Mar 11th 2024, 23:03 GMT
Windows 7 / Windows 7 64 bit / Windows 8 / Windows 8 64 bit / Windows 10 / Windows 10 64 bit / Windows 11
     
  • 1,791,808 downloads
  • 284 MB
Malwarebytes

Malwarebytes 5.1.1.82

Anti-malware application with basic protection against viruses, spyware, adware and other web thre...

Mar 8th 2024, 14:14 GMT
Windows 7 / Windows 7 64 bit / Windows 8 / Windows 8 64 bit / Windows 10 / Windows 10 64 bit / Windows 11
     
  • 144,914 downloads
  • 5.44 MB
Comodo Antivirus

Comodo Antivirus 12.2.2.8012

Efficient antivirus solution that detects and destroys malware and viruses, which can affect the s...

May 20th 2021, 06:44 GMT
Windows XP / Windows Vista / Windows Vista 64 bit / Windows 7 / Windows 7 64 bit / Windows 8 / Windows 8 64 bit / Windows 10 / Windows 10 64 bit
     
  • 11,075 downloads
  • 305 MB
SecureAPlus

SecureAPlus 6.7.5

A multi-layered system protection utility that enables you to keep your computer safe from malware...

May 16th 2022, 01:06 GMT
Windows 7 / Windows 7 64 bit / Windows 8 / Windows 8 64 bit / Windows 2008 R2 / Windows Server 2012 / Windows Server 2012 R2 / Windows 10 / Windows 10 64 bit / Windows Server 2016 / Windows Server 2019 / Windows Server 2022 / Windows 11